釋門自鏡錄 1.12

1.12

昔傳法聖者闍夜多。將諸弟子入城。至門慘然不悅。小復前行路見一烏。忽然微笑。弟子怪問。因而答曰。初於門下見餓鬼子。飢急困弱自言。母生我已。入城求食。自別已來。經五百年。飢虛窮乏命不久遠。及見其母。具述兒意。母曰。我辭入城經久求食不得。設得少唾強鬼所奪。始於今日值一人吐。邊無餘鬼。將欲與子。然又門下多有鬼神畏所奪。故不敢持出。願尊者慈蔭將我出城。所齎涕唾與子共食。吾又問言。生來幾時。答曰。我見此城七返成壞。吾聞彼言深悼生死無有邊際。是以嚬蹙慘然不樂。又於過去九十一劫。我於爾時為長者子。至願出家厭離塵欲。我若出家必斷眾結成阿羅漢。但為父母不見從志。強為娉妻冀求繼嗣。既不獲免。娶妻生子。又求出家。兒年六歲。父母教兒。汝父辭我欲出家者。汝可抱足語父。曰若捨我去誰當活我。先當見殺然後可去。我見兒抱遂生愛戀。便語子言。我今為汝不復出家。由是兒故。不得道證。九十一劫流轉五道。以生死身。未曾相遇。今以道眼。見生烏中。愍其孾愚。由是故笑耳。

Formerly, the Dharma-transmitting sage Jayata was entering a city with his disciples. Reaching the gate, he looked sad and displeased. Proceeding a little further along the road, he saw a crow and suddenly smiled faintly. The disciples wondered and asked about it, whereupon he answered, saying: 'Earlier, beneath the gate, I saw a hungry ghost child, starved, desperate, emaciated, and weak, who said of himself: "After my mother gave birth to me, she entered the city to seek food. Since we parted, five hundred years have passed; starved, empty, and destitute, my life will not last long." When I saw his mother, I fully recounted the child's message. The mother said: "I departed to enter the city and for a long time have sought food without obtaining any. Even if I obtained a little spittle, powerful ghosts snatched it away. Only today did I happen upon a person who vomited, with no other ghosts at his side, and I wished to give it to my child. However, beneath the gate there are many ghosts and spirits, and fearing it would be snatched away, I dared not carry it out. I wish the Venerable One would mercifully shelter me and take me out of the city, so that I may share the mucus and spittle I carry with my child." I also asked her: "How long have you lived?" She replied, saying: "I have seen this city form and disintegrate seven times." Hearing her words, I deeply lamented that saṃsāra is without boundary; therefore I furrowed my brow, looking sad and unhappy. Moreover, ninety-one eons ago in the past, I was at that time the son of an elder, and earnestly wished to renounce the household life, turning away from worldly desires. If I had renounced the household life, I would surely have severed all fetters and become an arhat. But because my parents would not comply with my wish, they forcibly arranged a wife for me, hoping to continue the lineage. Having failed to avoid it, I took a wife and fathered a son, and again sought to renounce the household life. When the child was six years old, the parents instructed the child: "If your father takes leave of us wishing to renounce the household life, you should hold his feet and say to your father: 'If you abandon me and leave, who will support me? You should first kill me, and only then may you leave.'" When I saw the child holding me, I gave rise to love and attachment, and said to the child: "I now, for your sake, will no longer renounce the household life." Because of this child, I failed to realize the Way. For ninety-one eons I drifted in the five destinies; in these bodies of birth and death, we never encountered each other. Now, with the eye of the Way, I see that he has been born among crows; pitying his infantile folly, it was for this reason that I smiled.'